The landing ship's duties soon took her southward to the warmer climes of the Hawaiian Islands, where she conducted local operations and exercises in March and April. On hand in Santa Barbara, California, from 2 July to 9 July, for the Semana Nautica Celebration, Thomaston returned to the Hawaiian Islands and participated in three landing exercises in the autumn before returning to the west coast to conduct exercises off the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, California, during the spring of 1957.

She subsequently deployed to the Western Pacific (WestPac) in 1959 and participated in exercises off Borneo
and Korea in June and August of that year. Alternating between the west coast and WestPac, Thomaston participated in a busy schedule of operations and cruises into the 1960s. During the international
tensions brought on by the United States' discovery of Russian missile sites in Cuba, Thomaston
sailed via the Panama Canal to the Caribbean and operated with the Atlantic Fleet until tensions abated with the withdrawal of the missiles. She then returned to San Diego on 15
December 1962.

She commenced the year 1963 at her home port, NS San Diego, and conducted training exercises into February before serving as primary control ship off "Green" Beach, Del Mar, California, during Operation Steel Gate from 28 February to 8 March 1963. Thomaston departed the west coast on 26 March, bound for the Far East, and arrived via Pearl Harbor at Subic Bay on 20 April. Serving with the Amphibious Force of the 7th Fleet; she participated in special operations in the South China Sea from 22 April to 5 May. A second special operation in the South China Sea — again with the Amphibious Ready Group, 7th Fleet — took place in late August and early September.

After operating in Okinawan waters, Thomaston departed Yokosuka, Japan, on 4 November, bound for the west coast of the United States. While route three days later, the LSD received word of a merchantman in distress. Changing course, Thomaston found SS Barbara Fritchie in heavy seas, dead in the water, having lost a propeller and suffering rudder damage. Thomaston
took her in tow and headed for Pearl Harbor, transferring the tow to USS Cree
on 12 November. The LSD's stop at Pearl Harbor was a brief one, though, as she arrived and departed for home on the same day, 15 November.

Vietnam War

Thomaston as part of TG 76.5 off Vietnam in March 1965.

Making port at San Diego on 21 November, Thomaston operated locally
and trained through the early fall of 1964, when she sailed for the Philippines on 26 October to commence another WestPac deployment. Arriving at Subic Bay on 16 November, the LSD conducted special operations in the South China Sea, including a dredge lift from Saigon to Da Nang, South Vietnam, between 21 November and 16 December. Christmas of that year found Thomaston again at sea, on "special operations" in the South China Sea.
She was present at the initial Marine landings at Da Nang and Chu Lai, South Vietnam. She remained deployed to WestPac until June 1965, when she returned to San Diego to conduct routine local operations off the west coast.

1966

Departing San Diego on 10 January 1966 for WestPac, Thomaston arrived in Vietnamese coastal waters on 5 February and immediately commenced operations
at Chu Lai and Da Nang, serving as boat haven at the latter port. She returned to the United States in the spring and remained at San Diego from 9 April to 9 July 1966.
The ship then headed back to the western Pacific and operated out of Subic Bay from 28 July through the end of the deployment.
She participated in Operations Deckhouse III (phases one and two)and
Deckhouse IV in August and September.
In the former, Thomaston landed marines north of
and served as primary control ship and boat haven during the subsequent operations. She then landed marines at a point just south of the
demilitarized zone (DMZ) between
North and South Vietnam.
She thus continued in her familiar role as primary control ship and boat haven during "Deckhouse IV"
and staged boat convoys carrying supplies nine miles up the Cua Vet River to Ðông Hà .

Returning to Subic Bay, Thomaston later participated in Exercise Mudpuppy II which was designed to provide training in river operations for marines. Held on
Mindoro in the Philippines, "Mudpuppy II" ended three days before Christmas; and
Thomaston sailed for Vietnam.

1968

Following an extensive overhaul at San Diego from 28 June to 18 December 1967,
Thomaston departed her home port on 21 February 1968 for her regular deployment to WestPac. After joining the Amphibious Ready Group off Vietnam in the
I Corps zone, Thomaston commenced operations in support of marines of the Special Landing Forces (SLF) engaged ashore in the defense of
QuảngTrị Province. She spent the month of March
steaming in coastwise logistics runs between Da Nang, Cam Ranh Bay, and the burgeoning Army supply base at Thon My Thuy,
known colloquially as "Murder Beach".

During her operations at the latter port, Thomaston demonstrated to
the Army the versatility of the Landing Ship Dock by serving as an effective
repair ship with a built-in drydock. Many small craft
and pontoon piers serving the supply base received hull and machinery work by
the crew in the ship's capacious well deck.
During this deployment, Thomaston proved that the amphibious ship was a
natural vehicle for interservice cooperation.

While operating off the coast of South Vietnam with the Amphibious Ready
Group, Thomaston conducted two search
and rescue operations. On the evening of 25 May, a CH-46 helicopter,
loaded with mail, passengers, and baggage, lost power in the vicinity of USS Valley Forge and crashed.
The helicopter remained afloat while those on board jettisoned all excess
weight. It gradually sank, but fortunately not before all men had safely left
the craft. Within a mile of the accident Thomaston dispatched two boats
to the scene and recovered not only four of the passengers and crew of the
CH-46 (the remainder were picked up by helicopter) but the crew from one of Valley
Forge's boats which had capsized upon launching. Later, on 2 June and again
while in the vicinity of Valley Forge, Thomaston picked up men
from the carrier who had jumped overboard to escape flames from a flight deck
fire.

Thomaston next participated in Badger Catch III,
the withdrawal of the Special Landing Force from the Cua Vet River area bordering on the extreme southern edge of the DMZ. Subsequently,
Thomaston and her embarked SLF participated in a swift succession of
operations against Communist ground forces. Operation Swift Sabre
plunged into Viet Cong-contested areas of the western shore of Da Nang harbor
on 8 June 1968. Following Exercise Hilltop XX in Subic Bay, Thomaston participated in Eager Yankee which landed elements of the SLF in
QuảngTrị Province near Cua Tu Hien on 9 July before
engaging, 13 days later, in Swift Play in the
coastal area south of Da Nang. These operations resulted in the capture of significant numbers of weapons and stores and the destruction of operating
bases and installations from which the enemy had launched attacks against other "friendly forces". During "Swift Play", Thomaston came under shore battery fire for a brief time.

1969-1975

For the next five years, Thomaston actively supported the war effort in Vietnam, conducted troop and cargo lifts, and participated in amphibious
operations. The tide of war, however, was running against the South Vietnamese; and, by the spring of 1975, concentrated efforts on the part of North
Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops put pressure on the crumbling South Vietnamese government.

The end for South Vietnam came during Thomaston's 15th WestPac deployment. The beginning of the year 1975 found
the landing ship at Subic Bay, undergoing a needed availability. She departed
Subic Bay on 2 February, bound for Singapore
where she stayed until 13 February. As a member of Task Group
(TG) 76.4 Thomaston later returned to port at Subic Bay on 25 February.
Her anticipated upkeep period, however, was cut short when the ship was
directed to return to sea with TG 76.4. On 2 March, Thomaston
departed Subic Bay to execute Operation Eagle Pull which evacuated Americans
and designated Cambodian citizens from the Cambodian
capital city of Phnom Penh. The civilians were to be picked up by helicopters
and ferried to the ships offshore.

She remained in readiness until the evening of 5 April, when Thomaston was
ordered to PhúQuốc island to
assist Vietnamese nationals evacuated from Da Nang. She transferred food and
medical supplies via her LCUs and LCM-8 assault craft
to Vietnamese refugees quartered on Military Sealift Command (MSC) vessels.

TG 76.4 executed "Eagle Pull" on 12 April, and Thomaston
took part as a plane guard on station to the south. Upon the successful
completion of the operation, designated units of the group proceeded to Sattahip, Thailand, to debark civilians airlifted from
Cambodia. Meanwhile, Thomaston sailed for the Philippines, arriving at
Subic Bay on the morning of 17 April, but her much deserved in-port period was
again abbreviated by operational necessity. Underway once more at 23:30 on 18
April, Thomaston sailed for Vietnamese waters to take part in the Götterdämmerung of South
Vietnam—the evacuation of the besieged capital, Saigon.

On 29 April, Operation Frequent Wind commenced at 15:00.
During the next nine hours Thomaston received 811 Vietnamese, American,
and other refugees. During this operation — for which the ship received the Meritorious Unit Commendation — Thomaston
received evacuees via helicopter, landing "choppers" as large as
CH-46's on her flight deck aft. All Vietnamese citizens were to be processed
and placed aboard MSC ships.

American citizens would be retained on board for transportation to the
Philippines. Although limited by space, all individuals were provided with
food, clothing, and medical attention. Makeshift shelters, "tents"
made from marines' blankets, were set up on board.

Returning to Subic Bay on 3 May, Thomaston immediately commenced
preparations for her homeward voyage. Civilians embarked during "Frequent
Wind" were debarked at Subic Bay. The ship then headed on for the west
coast of the United States, via Buckner
Bay, Okinawa;
and Pearl Harbor; and arrived at San Diego on 6 June 1975.

1976–1998

Thomaston subsequently operated with the Pacific Fleet in 1976,
conducting training and local operations in waters off Okinawa, Japan, Korea,
and Hawaii, before returning to San Diego at the close of the year.

Following a material inspection by the Navy Board of Inspection and Survey in
January 1977, Thomaston commenced preparations for her forthcoming
overhaul. On 1 June, she entered Todd Shipyard, Seattle, for the
most extensive overhaul conducted on an amphibious ship to that time. Lasting
18 months and costing nearly $30 million, the overhaul was completed on 7
December 1978. Thomaston returned to her home port of San Diego on 14
December and remained there into 1979.

In February 1980 Thomaston and her crew received the Humanitarian
Service Medal for her part in the radioactive cleanup operations on Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific.

During USS Thomaston's 1981 Westpac as part of Amphibious Squadron
Five, the ship and crew would receive a second Humanitarian Service Medal for
the rescue of 77 Vietnamese 'boat people' refugees in the South China Sea in April 1981.
During this cruise she would make her only visit to Perth/Fremantle, Australia,
from 28 May to 2 June 1981.

USS Thomaston began her final deployment on 17 January 1984, making
port calls at Manila, PI, Hong Kong, Pusan (Busan), South Korea and Pearl
Harbor HI, all the while conducting exercises with three major exercises along
with exercises with South Korean and Philippines naval units. USS Thomaston
returned home to San Diego CA on 27 July 1984, completing 30 years of service.

USS Thomaston was decommissioned 28 September 1984 and her name struck from the
Naval Vessel Register 2 February 1992, and laid up in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet,
under temporary custody of the
Maritime Administration (MARAD). The vessel was sold 29 September 1995 by MARAD to Pegasus Inc., but repossessed by the Navy, 1 July 1997. Permanent custody was reassigned to MARAD, 18 November 1998
for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet,
Suisun Bay,
, California.
On 28 July 2011, Thomaston was sold by MARAD to All Star Metals of Brownsville, Tx for $894,708 to be dismantled.[1]Thomaston departed the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 18 August 2011 to be cleaned by Allied Defense Recycling at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard.[2]Thomaston was towed to Brownsville upon completion of the cleaning and has been scrapped.